Monday, May 05, 2008

Three Everyday Meals

Well, it's no secret that I'm a beginning cook so I've been trying some really easy non-church-casserole type recipes. I've found a few that Larry and I have really liked that my sisters have asked me to share so here are three that we loved from Everyday Food. The first is from their book, Good Food Fast, and the other two are from their magazine (Thanks Brittany for passing along your copies!). You can click on the titles to link to their site where you can print out these recipes and search for other good recipes.

Serves 4
Ingredients
1 pound spaghetti
8 ounces (8 slices) bacon, cut 1 inch thick crosswise
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3 large eggs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/2 cup half-and-half

Directions
  1. Set a large pot of water to boil (for pasta). In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 12 minutes; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
  2. Salt boiling water generously; add pasta and cook until al dente, according to package instructions.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, Parmesan, and half-and-half. Set aside.
  4. Drain pasta, leaving some water clinging to it. Working quickly, add hot pasta to egg mixture. Add bacon; season with salt and pepper, and toss all to combine (heat from pasta will cook eggs). Serve immediately, sprinkled with additional Parmesan cheese.

Serves 4
Ingredients
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
coarse salt and ground pepper
4 cups crisp rice cereal
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders (tenderloins)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
4 medium carrots, cut into sticks
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into sticks

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 475. Place flour in a shallow bowl, and egg in a second one; season both with salt and pepper. Pulse cereal and oil in a food processor until fine crumbs form (I don't have a food procesor so I tried a blender and that did NOT work. I ended up using a baby food jar to smash the rice crispies in a bowl like I was using a mortar and pestle and that worked just fine). Season with salt and pepper; transfer to a third shallow bowl.
  2. Coat chicken: first in flour, shaking off excess; then with egg, letting excess drip off; and finally in cereal mixture, pressing to help it adhere. Place on a baking sheet, and bake until light golden brown and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes, turning over halfway through.
  3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together sour cream, mustard, and honey; season with salt and pepper. Serve tenders and vegetables with creamy honey mustard on the side
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/2 cup pecan halves
6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 pint (2 cups) grape tomatoes
1/3 cup white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 to 3 bunches (1 1/2 pounds total) flat-leaf spinach, trimmed, cleaned, and dried
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, and toast in oven until golden and fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons fat from skillet.
  3. Add onion to skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, vinegar, and sugar; simmer until liquid thickens slightly and tomatoes are heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.
  4. Place spinach in a large bowl, and pour hot tomato-onion mixture over; toss quickly to coat and wilt spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with reserved pecans and bacon.

6 comments:

Brittany said...

Yeah!!! I'm so glad you're using them. We love the Chicken tender recipe :)

Poulsen Family said...

Hi, I found you through blog hopping a while back (I think I found your Children's lit page and then you) any way, I lurk every once in a while and I saw your entry you did on Children's music. I thought it was such a fun idea. Any way, I found an ipod podcast from land of nod (free) that I thought you might be interested in. You probably already know about it, but I thought, what the hey, might as well let you know it's out there. They have just posted new ones by Barenaked Ladies.

Diana said...

I've made the spaghetti carbonara before and it's dee-lish! I love Everyday Food...I have the cookbook and get the magazine. The food is simple but tasty.

Shannon Sundberg said...

Stephanie:
I have been scoping out the neighborhood for you and I have found a couple of rentals available. One number you may want to call is 801-263-9900. I haven't ever been inside the house, but it is in our ward and I have asked people about it and they have said it is nice. If you haven't found a place yet, let me know because I have a couple more numbers if you are interested. We can't wait to have you here!

smileynann said...

I just have a quick question about the cucumbers with the chicken -- do you eat the skin? I've always (the two times we've had it) cut it off, but if it's edible it's always nice to save a step.

Thanks!

Stephanie Ford said...

I should have noted that I forgot to take pictures of all of the food so I just used the photos from the recipe links.

I do not eat the cucumber with the skins on. I did when I was living in Japan, but in the US they always seem to have a nasty waxy coating so I always peel them here. I hope that helps!